A Bit of History...

Hey all,

My name is Nick Alcorn and this is a sort of visual diary to my tattooing. I've just finished my apprenticeship at Skincraft Tattoo & Piercing under a great artist by the name of Stephen Kenny. Although the apprenticeship is complete, There is still a lot for me to learn and develop in the art of tattooing. That is why I have set up this visual diary, to study my work chronologically. 

I started at Skincraft in January of 2006 as a counter worker as I was near in completing college at the Art Institute of Cincinnati. After Graduating (and throughout most of my schooling) I focused on tattooing as the form of art I wanted to pursue. I've met some great artists working here, although Steve picked me up and showed me the basics. He would show me how a tattoo machine works, and how the tattoo is performed. Eventually he offered to take me on as his apprentice, and from there on out I have studied under him. Apprenticing was a blast! There was so much I never knew, and grew to respect about tattooing. It really is an art of its own. I am continually learning more and more, and that is what keeps this job so interesting, there is always the opportunity to do better. 

From time to time I will post new and interesting pieces, from prep work to the finished product. I'll start with a few black & gray pieces I did in March of 2009. 

This is a custom piece i did in March of 2009 on my friend Joe. This was actually one of the first wrapping tattoos I had ever done. We stayed about two hours later than I thought it would take us. so thanks for sitting still Joe!

This is another custom piece I drew up and tattooed on my friend Ryan. This guy gave me a chance way before a lot of people and wanted me to tattoo this huge piece early on. To be quite honest, this tattoo scared the shit out of me when we started, but it's probably earned me more business than any tattoo I've done yet.

Here is a chest piece we began in March of 2009. It took a couple of sessions, but is a very interesting piece to build a portfolio on. Jeff and I sat and talked for a while about this tattoo until he finally decided on this. From there I drew it up and we set a date. Jeff is another guy who let me perform some crazy stuff early on.